Mountain Town music doesn't stop for the summer

Mike Abraham, center, on vocals and Bruce LaFrance, right, on bass and vocals for Spur of the Moment play at Hunter's Ale House in Mt. Pleasant Saturday, May 11, 2013. "We pride ourselves on being able to play any room. The name of the band is Spur of the Moment for a reason," said Abraham. (Sun photo by KEN KADWELL/@KenKadwell).

The music doesn’t stop in Mt. Pleasant when the college students leave. Hunter’s Ale House and Rubble’s Bar keep the bands coming to town and the live music around for full-time residents of the college town.

“You always want to have (live music) because it’s what you’re known for,” said Pat Simons, the general manager at Hunter’s Ale House, located on Bluegrass Road. “This is the first real summer as more of a live music venue.”

Simons said they’ve been booking many bands for the summer and have been bringing in more local bands. “We’re gearing it more toward the full-time Mt. Pleasant residents.”

Live music is new to Hunter’s within the past year. Simons said it’s been successful so far with many touring bands and local favorites taking the stage. He said that the summer is different for music fans, though.

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“When it comes to the music, you have to be smart about who you book,” Simons said. “If it’s too loud, people will leave. Out of town bands might not bring as many fans.”

Fewer college bands are playing this summer because students are out of town.

“College bands have a great following in town because they bring their friends out,” Simons said, “and their friends bring friends.”

Simons said that he’s booked a few bands off recommendations from customers. One band was booked because a regular saw them in a city Up North and said he had fun at the show.

“It’s full-time residents who come out to shows,” Simons said. He said keeping the music going for them is fun. “It’s interesting to see who listens to what.”

Gregg Brimmer, the booker at Rubbles Bar in downtown Mt. Pleasant, said they plan on keeping their live music going through the summer, but are slowing it down to two nights a week instead of three.

“We’ll do a Friday show and a Saturday show instead of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, or some mix of those days,” said Brimmer. “Running two nights helps at least one night be really successful.”

Brimmer said the bands coming into town slows down, but they still get their regulars in to watch the shows. “It’s a lot of different people with the mix of their schedules.”

Jon Andrews, the assistant security manager at Rubbles, said, “The base crowd is the same. We have our regulars, but we don’t see the variety of faces the college students bring.”

Andrews said the crowd is a little less rowdy during the summer because everyone is older for the most part. He said the regulars don’t make a huge fuss and bands can play for a crowd of anywhere from one to 100 people. Different shows bring out different people.

Rubbles is more apt to try new bands out during the summer and help them start getting established in the college town.

“A lot of bands are scared to play during the summer,” Brimmer said. “But if they play that one show, they’ll be remembered (during the school year).”

Andrews said they watch the bands’ performances and how well the crowd reacts. “We see how well they draw and sound, then we see if we can bring them back during the school year.”

Brimmer said most of the weekends through June and part of July is already booked with shows for local residents. “Our quality of music doesn’t go down during the summer. We’ll have more local bands headlining.”

Andrews said they don’t experience a huge lull in the summer months. “It slows down. We’ll always have steady business, but the crowd shifts to an older crowd.”

Acoustic sets are also popular this summer. Many smaller, one-person shows will be gracing the stages at Rubble’s and Hunter’s. Mitch Reetz, Lou Matz, and many others will start shows with covers and original songs for patrons.

Both venues are starting to plan welcome back shows for the students in August and September. Simons said, “We’re looking to come back from summer vacation with someone big.”

Hunter’s Ale House will be the venue this year for Mt. Pleasant’s music festival, Midwest Fest. Corey Densmore, the booker for that weekend festival, has been working since late February on putting together the September show.

Midwest Fest will consist of over 25 bands from all over the Midwest. A few local favorites will be showcased.

“There are over 18 new bands on the line-up,” Densmore said. “It’s a diverse crowd.”

Midwest Fest will bring students back, and will let residents see some bands they watched over the summer.

Simons said they have enjoyed working with Densmore, giving him one weekend a month to book a show for them. “It’s easier to not worry about who’s getting what show that weekend.”

Brimmer is also in the works of booking more summer shows, and will continue to book for the fall as well. He hopes to get a crowd in the bar and that the bands will bring some fans.

Friday, Grand Rapids’ Helical Scan will be playing at Rubbles Bar with music starting at 10 p.m. Lester Bangs, a cover band, will be at Hunter’s Ale House with music starting at 9:30 p.m. Saturday will bring the three-part rock band Jimmy Says from Traverse City to Rubbles with music starting at 10 p.m.

Upcoming shows for both venues can be found on Facebook, and will be promoted by the bands as well. Time Out also includes weekly bar listings.

Information on all bands playing at both venues can also be found on Facebook or Twitter.